Alabama tornadoes: Volunteers help rebuild home in Shoal Creek

Buford Sanders lost a lot of April 27 to the tornado that ravaged Shoal Creek Valley in St. Clair County. He land wife Margaret lost his son and daughter-in-law , his home and other family members were injured. Sanders and his wife are getting help from friends and volunteer groups to build a home large enough for he and his wife and his 3 granddaughters. Buford Sanders, drenched in sweat, takes a break amidst the stud walls of his new home. (The Birmingham News/Joe Songer)

Buford Sanders lost much in the April 27 tornado that tore through the idyllic Shoal Creek Valley near Ashville.

His son Al, 44, and daughter-in-law Angela, 43, were among the 13 killed there that night.

Three homes on the land where the family had lived for at least three generations were destroyed, possessions scattered in the wind. Sanders' son Ray and granddaughter Cassie were hospitalized with serious injuries. Sanders made it to a shelter for storm victims with nothing but the clothes on his back and a pair of mismatched shoes.

"I now know what it feels like to wake up and have nothing but friends," Sanders said.

But now -- thanks to those friends, and friends of friends, and kind-hearted strangers -- Sanders is on the verge of having a new four-bedroom, three-bathroom home, where he and his wife, Margaret, can pick up the pieces and care for the granddaughters who lost their parents: Cecily, 21, Cassie, 19, and Ciera, 14.

Signs of hopeWith many communities still struggling with debris clearing, the Sanderses' house, sprouting out of the pastureland against the backdrop of a mountainside of felled trees, is sign of hope, part of an early wave of rebuilding.

Sanders, who retired after 38 years at Stockham Valves and Fittings in Birmingham, has been amazed at the spontaneous coming together of volunteers and talent who've raised a house from scratch and plan to have it complete by the second week in July.

"A neighbor dug the footing and another neighbor laid the block and, once that was done, we were ready to get the wood out here," said Sanders, 73, between the tapping of hammers and whine of saws. "Almost everything has been volunteer labor. That is what has been so overwhelming -- that people would be willing to volunteer their time and expertise. It's just been a blessing." Building surgeIt is difficult to say how many new homes are under construction in various jurisdictions since permitting agencies don't differentiate between major repair or new construction permits, but a post-tornado surge is underway.

Alan Boswell, chief building official for the City of Tuscaloosa, said home reconstruction has commenced there with 910 residential permits issued for repairs or rebuilding. Jefferson County director of inspection services Bill Mullins said the numbers of permits being issued are up dramatically.

"We have had a tremendous increase in permit activity," he said.

The Sanderses' progress is the product of conversation that started in the early days after the storm as volunteers turned out to help clear the debris.

By happenstance, something of a dream team came together. Among them were Ron Westmoreland of Stringfellow Lumber in Irondale, Jeff Brasher of USA Block of Birmingham and Eddie Poe of Poe Electric in Moody. During breaks, they talked about how they could pull together the resources to help the Sanders family rebuild.

"We all just really found one another by working on the property," Westmoreland said. "Church groups got involved as they heard us talking. They wanted to help."

A touching requestWestmoreland, a friend of Sanders' injured son Ray, said he became more determined when Buford Sanders returned from visiting his granddaughter Cassie, who'd emerged from the sedation she'd been under since the storm. She faces a long recovery, with doctors hoping she'll start walking again by August.

"She told her grandaddy all she wanted to do was to come home," Westmoreland said. "That little girl made one simple request: to come home. And that touched me."

Westmoreland gave Sanders' wife a plan book and she quickly selected a ranch-style house with room for the girls. Insurance would cover the cost of materials. Sanders is accustomed to being self-reliant and giving help rather than receiving it, but under the circumstances, he accepted Westmoreland's offer.

"I reckoned he just wanted to help and it just suited me fine," Sanders said.

Westmoreland said: "If it was me in the same boat, I'm 99 percent sure they'd do the same for me."

At least five different churches have sent work crews: Grace Baptist Church in Oxford, Riverbend Baptist Church in Gadsden, Ashville First Baptist, Greensport Baptist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Leeds, Westwood Baptist of Alabaster and Extreme Ministries of Talladega. Businesses Alabama Teachers Credit Union and Webb Concrete also joined.

"Hopefully we'll be moved in here before too much longer," Sanders said.

Mid-July deadlineThis weekend, siding goes up. The electrician comes Monday, roofers on Tuesday and insulation and sheet rocking go in later in the week. "Our goal is for Buford to be in that house no later than the second week in July," Westmoreland said.

Sanders has no illusions it will be easy, trying to make a home out the new house.

It stands just yards away from where his son and daughter-in-law died, she immediately and he in the painful hours after as the ambulances struggled to make their way into the secluded valley.

"It is going to take some time. It's pretty tough when you have lost someone. Someone who has been right beside you," Sanders said.

But this valley is home, with daylilies dotting the roadside, horses and cattle grazing in the pastures. The green mountains hold the valley cupped in their hands.

Sanders' emotions well up but he holds and, moments later, has a playful exchange with a teenage volunteer. Then he thinks about the day he'll be able to get through the toppled trees and look down from the ridge again.

"I chose to live here. I love the wildlife and the woods," Sanders said. And he appreciates friends and neighbors.

"It don't know that this place is different than any others but I do know it would be hard to beat," he said.